The angel of the Lord appeared to Mary concerning the conceiving of Jesus. However, when it was necessary to move from the land of Israel to Egypt, the angel did not come to Mary, but to Joseph. You may be indeed wonderful, but you are wonderful only for conceiving, not for moving. The leading and guidance of the Lord’s move does not come through you, but through another to whom you are related. If you would know the Lord’s will regarding your move and the things you need to do, you need Joseph. The conceiving was by Mary, but the leading was not given to Mary, but to Joseph. This is wonderful!
You may be today’s Mary, but you nevertheless need the coordination of Joseph. You may be absolutely out of religion and so much in the Holy Spirit to bring forth Christ, but if you do not have Joseph, you still do not know what to do and you do not have the Lord’s leading. For the Lord’s leading you need Joseph. The leading came to Joseph, not only for going down to Egypt, but also for coming out of Egypt to return to the land of Israel. Mary was not considered in this matter. The angel appeared to Joseph.
When Joseph was bringing Mary and the child back to the land of Israel, he feared that the child might still be persecuted in the district of Judea. While he considered the matter, he received guidance from the Lord to turn from Judea to Galilee and settle in the city of Nazareth. This also fulfilled the prophecy in the Old Testament. All the prophecy concerning Christ being born in Bethlehem, His going down to Egypt and being called out of Egypt, and His being called a Nazarene depended upon the coordination of Joseph. Of course, to conceive Christ and to bring Him forth is the function of Mary. Nevertheless, to fulfill the prophecy of the Lord, which means to fulfill the Lord’s purpose, requires the coordination of Joseph.
We all need to learn how to apply the principle revealed in this case. There are many cases in the church life which in principle are like this example. Mary was on the side of life and reality, and Joseph was on the side of position and move. The life and the reality of conceiving Jesus were with Mary. Joseph did not have these, but Joseph had the position as the head, and Mary needed to submit to him. Joseph had no reality to conceive Jesus, but Mary did not have the position to move. We need the reality in life, and we also need the position and move.
Now let us apply this principle to the church life. Suppose some brothers are going to clean the meeting hall, a job that requires the skill these brothers have. However, these brothers are not the leading ones in this service group. The leading one is a brother who knows nothing about cleaning. He simply does not know how to clean the floors, the windows, the ceiling, or any other part of the hall, and he really does not know why the church put him into such a position. When it is time to do the cleaning, all the brothers who have the skill need to come to this brother who knows nothing about cleaning to ask what they should do. He does not have the skill, but he has the position, a position those who have the skill do not have.
The problem is that all the Marys think they do not need the Josephs. They think they can conceive, but Joseph cannot do anything; therefore, they ignore him. If this is the case, the church life is immediately killed, and Christ cannot be brought forth. The cleaning of the hall then will be a problem. They may do a good work, but nothing of Christ will be conceived and brought forth. There is the real need of coordination.
Perhaps a certain brother knows how to bring people to the Lord. He has the knowledge and ability to preach the gospel. However, he needs to know where he should go to preach, and what he should do to carry out his burden. He needs to go to Joseph. Surely Joseph is not as qualified as he is. This brother has the ability to preach, but here is a brother who cannot preach, yet God gave him as a Joseph to the gifted brother to be over him and to guide him. If they coordinate together, Christ will be brought forth in the gospel for the building up of the church. The question is whether the gifted brother will take such a one as his Joseph. Today’s problem is that the able persons are not willing to submit to those who are not as able in certain aspects as they are.
Do you think that all the elders in a local church are all-inclusively sufficient? In the church there are many things to be accomplished. Those who have been with us in Los Angeles for some time realize now that the church life is not so simple. Today we have so many serving with us in many different service groups; yet there are still some aspects and areas of service which have not been taken care of. How could four or five elders be all-inclusively sufficient? They cannot do everything. If I were one of the elders, there would be many things that I could not do. For instance, if we were going to have a love feast, I would not know how to cook. You should not think that as an elder I can preach, I can teach, I can visit others, and I can do the cleaning work. No one is all-inclusively sufficient. There is the need of coordination with all the members of the Body.
Suppose there is a sister who excels in cooking, and the church is preparing to serve a meal to some guests. Not one of the elders knows anything about cooking, but this sister knows all about it. What should she do? She has the cooking ability, but she does not have the cooking guidance. She does not know what day to do the cooking or how many to cook for. She has the reality and the life of cooking, but she does not have the position and guidance for cooking. She needs the elders to be Josephs to her.
I believe that by these few simple illustrations we can understand how we need to apply this principle in everything. Here is a brother who takes the lead in the work of the children’s meeting in the church. Do you think he is all-sufficient and able to execute all the aspects of the children’s work? It is impossible. I believe that if he were asked to care for the little ones in the nursery, he could not do it. However, some of the sisters are fully qualified in this matter. There is the need for coordination.
Today there are many gifted ones who can be compared to a Mary without a Joseph. They could even be compared to divorced women, because they think that they have the ability, the ministry, the gift, and the function, and that they need no one to lead them or coordinate with them. It even seems that they are wives who need no husbands. This is the situation among too many Christians today. Such a situation is somewhat like a broken home, but the church life is surely not a broken home. The wife in the church life may be quite capable; yet she is willing to submit to those who are not so capable, but who have the position. This is basic. This principle is not only for our families, but also for the church. We need all the Marys, and we need all the Josephs. We need the qualified, able Marys, and we also need the Josephs in their proper position. We need someone who has the ability, and we also need someone who has the position. Without the able ones, there is no life, and without those in position, there is no direction or guidance. Without Mary, there is no way for Joseph to conceive Jesus, and without Joseph, Mary does not know what to do or where to go, even though she has already conceived Jesus.
We thank the Lord that many of the blessings that have been brought into the church life have come simply through the proper coordination. There are many things I cannot do, not only in this country, but also in my homeland. It has only been through proper coordination that the blessing has been brought in. We need to realize that we need coordination regardless of how much we are able to do or what kind of position we have. This is the Lord’s wisdom in the New Testament service.
By what way could we have the Body life and the proper church life? There is no other way but by Mary and Joseph coordinating together. There is the need of Mary in the aspect of the reality of life, and there is also the need of Joseph in the aspect of the position and move. When we put these two together, we have the bringing forth of Christ. Then God’s purpose will be fulfilled.
In the church life we need the proper coordination with so many Marys and so many Josephs. It is a sad situation when the Marys will not take the Josephs, and the Josephs will not take the Marys. We need both to have a proper bringing forth of Jesus. The Bible says that the birth of Jesus Christ was in this way. It is only in this way that we could bring forth Christ, that is, by the proper coordination of Mary and Joseph.